The Importance of Playground Play by Jeanette Mangano, DPT Kids Place West Pediatric Physical Therapist The playground is an exciting place for most children that is crucial to the development of social, fine motor, and gross motor skills. In addition to promoting an active lifestyle, children will also learn and develop many skills needed to…
Case Study: Minimally Invasive Muscle Sparing Patient Specific Total Knee Replacement By Brooke Smith, PT, DPT AZOPT Goodyear Physical Therapist Recently, I had the opportunity to observe a total knee replacement surgery performed by Dr. Brandon Gough, MD, of Hedley Orthopaedic Institute. Dr. Gough performs a newer procedure that is less invasive with a shorter…
Which Hand Will My Child Use? by Kids Place Occupational Therapists Are you a righty or a lefty? 9 out of 10 of you will be right handed while one of you is either left handed or ambidextrous. Your dominant hand is determined in utero, but it takes several years of motor learning and experience…
What is Frozen Shoulder? Like back pain, shoulder pain can be caused by many things — stress, exercise (or the lack thereof), working in the same position for a long period of time. But if you have chronic shoulder pain and stiffness, as well as limited movement in your shoulder joint, especially over a longer…
Parentese: What Is It and Why You Should Do It By Nicole Overy, MS, CFY-SLP Kids Place West Speech-Language Pathologist When you talk to a baby, you’ll likely use a high-pitched voice, draw out your vowels, and speak with a musical prosody. You’ll probably face the baby directly and use exaggerated facial expressions. This way…
Beginning and Following Through With Better Fitness By AZOPT Physical Therapists It’s no surprise the most popular New Year’s Resolution is to get in better shape. It’s also no surprise that this resolution ends in failure more times than success. But how can you succeed with this resolution? What are the keys to getting started,…
Vertigo (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) by Brooke Smith, DPT AZOPT Goodyear Clinic Manager and Physical Therapist Dizziness in the form of Vertigo comes in many different varieties. Commonly, patients who present with vertigo are experiencing what we define as BPPV. BPPV, or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, is caused by a disruption of crystals within the…
Hand Strength: 5 Fun Activities for Children by Emma Clark, Student OT Childhood is a critical time for the development of intrinsic hand muscles. Without the proper development of these muscles, children will have delayed fine motor skills or fatigue during fine motor activities. Building hand strength in children leads to the development of skills like…
Injury Prevention in Youth Athletics Youth sports are a great way to help keep kids active, learn the value of teamwork, and make new friends. It can be rewarding for both the athlete and family members. However, the increasingly competitive nature of sports these days has them starting at a younger age and training harder…
Keys to Being Active and Staying Active By Ryann Roberts, DPT Owner and Physical Therapist Ahh… retirement – the time to finally enjoy your hobbies! Golf, pickleball, tennis, arts & crafts – retirement has them all. Some are active, some not. Regardless, you need to stay active to continue enjoying your retirement. Activity and proper…
